JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s president on Saturday pardoned the combat medic who shot dead at close range a badly wounded Palestinian attacker who had stabbed a soldier in the occupied West Bank, a case that divided the country a decade ago.

Elor Azaria’s conviction in 2017 for manslaughter and his release after serving two-thirds of his 18-month sentence drew enormous attention in Israel, where military service is compulsory for most Jewish men. In his first interview after his release, Azaria said that “I would act exactly the same, because that’s how I needed to act.”

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